Uber does not always offer cheaper service. They operate on a market pricing mechanism to assure availability.

This means that, for example, on New Year’s Eve in NYC, you are assured you can get an Uber car even though normal taxis are essentially unavailable because of excess demand, but you will also discover the Uber car will be quite expensive. This is, of course, as it should be — the spike in price encourages as many Uber drivers as possible to work during a rush period. However, it is also decried by those who do not understand economics.

Good point, Perry. Expect to hear denunciations from the official cab drivers of “price gouging”.

But my optimistic side says that in the audience for every denunciation there will be someone obediently nodding their head to keep in with the crowd yet privately noting the fact for future reference that with this here new service it looks like you will be able to get a taxi on New Year’s Eve.

Incidentally, I’ve no particular brief for Uber, though I like the unapologetic cut of Mr Kalanick’s jib. But some company somewhere, Uber or one of their rivals, is going to make this sort of thing visibly work in enough cities that any victories of the entrenched interests in other cities won’t last for long.

When looking at developed nations it can be hard for people with no prior interest to see what works and what doesn’t in terms of economic policies, property rights and so on. That’s because countries are so big that there is nearly always some complicating factor messing up the picture.

But there are lots more cities than nations and the question here is a very simple one.

I shall miss seeing trainee cab drivers on motorbikes, gaining “the knowledge”. The Knowledge was part of London’s urban folklore, and I like urban folklore

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